10 Works of Art That Look Different than Most of Us Expect

Our images of most of the works of art are based on Internet pictures. Their original copies very often surprise with their dimensions or the craft they were made with.

Mona Lisa was painted by Leonardo da Vinci, between 1503 and 1507. Today it is one of the most famous masterpieces of painting in the world. The original copy can be admired in the Louvre Museum in Paris. Its real dimensions are not that impressive, though – it's only 30 inches high and 20 inches wide.

Leonardo Da Vinci worked on 'The Last Supper' between 1495 and 1498. Most people recognize it easily in printed pictures. However, it is not a painting! The image is a large fresco (181 x 346 inches) on a wall in the refectory of the Dominican Convent at the Santa Maria Delle Grazie basilica in Milan.

The Creation of Adam is a fresco by Michele Angelo to be admired on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. In fact it is not a separate work. It is just a part (110 x 224 inches) of the work, surrounded by other scenes.

Vincent Van Gogh did not paint only one picture of sunflowers. There is a series of 11 canvas showing a variety of these plants. Four of them were created in Paris and seven in Arles.

In 2018 Berlin and Moscow enjoyed the exhibition of a mysterious street artists called Banksy. It was extremely popular. In Russia it was advertised by posters saying 'Banksy – a genius or a vandal? You decide' The tickets cost the equivalent of 7 to 25 dollars. The artists was more than surprised to see that someone charges money for things he offers for free in the streets.

The sculpture of David (by Michele Angelo) is enormous. It is 17 feet tall and was made of marble. Until 1873 the statue was the pride of Piazza della Signoria in Florence. Then it was replaced by a copy and the original one was moved inside a museum (Galleria dell’Accademia) in Florence. The rationale behind was to keep it safe from pigeons' excrements.

Claude Monet, a French painter, is famous for its canvas showing water lilies. The artist created about 250 paintings of these plants during the last 30 years of his life. All of them show a pond in the painter's garden in Giverny.

The Chupa Chups brand was created in Spain in 1958 by Enrice Bernat (born in Barcelona). The logo of the world-famous lollipops was designed by Salvadore Dali in 1969. Today the brand is the property of Perfetti Van Melle, an Italian corporation.

Contrary to common beliefs, ancient Greek and Roman statues and temples were not white. People living in those times loved colors and the works of art were normally covered with colorful polychromic paint. They used several coloring agents, including red, yellow, blue or green.

Two angels, so common in our culture, are in fact a part of a painting called the Sistine Madonna. The canvas dates back to 1513- 1514 and show Holy Virgin Mary with the Christ Child, Saint Barbara and Saint Sixtus (having the face of Pope Julius II). The painting can be admired in Dresden, Germany.